Talk:The Many Things That Make Me/@comment-392210-20130919220906
In an attempt to keep my promise to deliver episodic reviews in an appropriate time, I shall take the time to review each act of the episode after reading them, with the broken-down overview laid out before thee in my usual "More Than Two Cents" list of points. I expect to write a proper final appreciation below it. More Than Two Cents: *Teaser - I thought that the teaser was a lot of fun, most of the dialogue made me smile. It continues the series' leaning into comedic bits, and helps to make each of the four protagonists likable. I find it hilarious how they all gathered to play poker yet none of them seems to know how to do it. Funny how Miguel and Rocky both have brief mentions, I guess in an attempt to make it more realistic (since they do live in the house) and to squeeze them into the 50th episode, cos the more, the merrier. *Act I/Ben - Oh, wow. I am not done reading the act as I write this, by the way, but honestly, reading this scene with Ben and the magic trick makes my heart break a little for poor old Katie. :P I absolutely love that you guys took the time to make it clear to us why Katie had a crush on Ben to begin with. It's really nostalgic, and fun, and bittersweet. I guess the trick worked on her. That being said, if there is one thing I hate, is guys who give tips on how to talk to girls. Nothing screams "douche" like that. Ok, ouch. That Ben thing with the post is... yikes. Don't wish that to anyone. Ok... I love Lydia, and I loved the beginning of her scene when she kept questioning Ben. The part about her telling him that it's his own fault for being so awkward was especially good. Reminded me of the eerie scenes exchanged between Paul and Zach Young in the early seasons of DH. But then she kept repeating the impotence line and it sort of killed the scene for me. :| *Act II/Joe - I love Annie, and I sure love slutty Annie. That scene with Dr. Sonya was perfect in every way. AND OMG I WANNA GIVE KATIE A HUG SHE'S SO SWEET I LOVE HER NOM NOM NOM! :3 Poor Katie though. :P And I really like the theme of the episode, by the way, things are being handled really nicely so far. The series is at its best when you guys get to the roots and the core of the main characters and you've been doing a solid job at that from the get-go, but especially these last two seasons. And the storytelling devices you employ are just always so spot-on somehow... I guess it's to make up for that whole Silvia debacle. LOLOLOL! She sucked. *Act III/Rena - Okay, so we're doing each schoolboy by credit order. That just makes Josh seem special *tut*. :| Anywho... Hehe everytime there's a special episode y'all drag Ali and Justine out of character limbo. :P I never would have guessed after season 1 that those two would appear this much. Seriously, are the actresses never busy elsewhere? Cos that's just sad... Holy crap that adoption scene was brilliant. I loved it. Adding it to the slew of scenes from this episode that have been perfect. So well written... I love the character of Justine so much. :P And my heart broke for poor Filipe and Ali. It just seems somewhat odd (and very Dylan-y) that Filipe/Renato would forget about his childhood whilst growing up, his days in the orphanage. I mean, I personally remember SO MUCH from when I was a young boy. The drawings I made, the toys I had and tapes I watched, the ghost sightings, the poop incidents... I remember them all. Rena didn't remember being in an orphanage? Seems odd. But that's something for the whole of the series, not this particular episode. And the scene was fantastic. The second scene was great too, the whole act was. But Jesus, poor Mary. :P I really, really ship Renary, I think they are so good together. But it breaks my heart a little when these episodes come along and it always seems like Rena was robbed of his soulmate and Mary will always only be second-banana to her. I mean, if y'all wanted Ali to be Rena's one true love, why'd you off the bitch in episode 8?! *Act IV/Josh - I find it hard to believe that, should Josh be stimulated by a girl, he wouldn't be able to get it up. I mean, it comes down to physicality, right? If someone rubs your dick, your dick gets hard. No? I would figure it's as plain and simple as that. Yet bitches be touching his junk and his junk be droopy like Droopy. Go figure. Gotta love bigoted Bob, hehe. What a dick. I didn't realize Kimo was a dumbass. Fun. Shoulda used that more in the early seasons. The whole thing with Josh coming up to the guys was a bit unrealistic and contrived, but it did help to make him more likable and relatable. And all in all, as dickish as he is at points - something that obviously stems a bit from the education he was given at home -, it is profoundly remarkable that the other three are his friends. Even though Joe deems him to be his least favorite. :P And none of them notice when he's kidnapped... Lol. Lol... *Act V/James - This act was wonderful, and wrapped everything up nicely with a little bow on top. For the first time in the entire series, I think, James was actually a character. Someone with more dimension and depth, and it's lovely to know how positively he influenced his friends' lives. We should have seen more of this James and of his impact on the protagonists in the first two seasons, when the character was supposed to matter but sort of clunked. James became a literary technique in the series with no defined purpose, and it's a shame that instances like the ones shown in this act hadn't been used before. He became important, finally. And it was very well handled. Just a bit too late... :/ Anyway, I loved this episode. I believe it to be my second favorite episode of the series, after the Fraser show last season (4.10, damned if I remember the title :P). I had a great time reading it, it was fun and moving and deep, and showed great insight on the characters and the series as a whole. Season 5 is on a good roll so far, and this special episode was just that indeed. The continuity is still something to be praised, and envied by actual television shows. Keep up the good work, guys.